Dhaka: At least 91 people, including 14 policemen, were killed and hundreds injured on Sunday in fierce clashes between protesters demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and the ruling party supporters in different parts of Bangladesh, forcing authorities to cut off mobile internet and enforce a nationwide curfew for an indefinite period.

The clashes broke out Sunday morning when protesters attending the non-cooperation programme under the banner of the Students Against Discrimination with the one-point demand of the government’s resignation over a job quota system faced opposition from the supporters of the Awami League, Chhatra League, and Jubo League activists.

At least 91 people have been killed in clashes, shootings and counter-chases across the country surrounding the non-cooperation program, leading Bengali-language newspaper Prothom Alo reported.

According to the police headquarters, 14 policemen have been killed across the country. Of them, 13 were killed in Sirajganj’s Enayetpur police station. One person was killed in Comilla’s Elliotganj, the paper said. More than 300 policemen were injured, it added.

The fresh round of clashes erupted days after over 200 people were killed in violent clashes between the police and mostly student protesters demanding an end to the controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971. Since then, more than 11,000 people have been arrested.

Officials claimed that today’s protests were joined by unidentified people and activists of rightwing Islami Shashontantra Andolon, which erected barricades on several major highways and within the capital city. The protesters attacked the police stations and boxes, ruling party offices and residences of their leaders and burnt several vehicles, they added.

The situation prompted authorities to order a curfew in major cities and small towns across Bangladesh for an indefinite period from 6 PM Sunday, mobilising troops, paramilitary border guards BGB, and the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion alongside police.

The government ordered the shutdown of Meta platforms Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. The mobile operators were ordered to shut down 4G mobile internet, the paper added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hasina said that those engaging in “sabotage” across the country in the name of protest are not students but terrorists and asked people to suppress them with a firm hand.

“I appeal to the countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a firm hand,” she said.

Hasina called a meeting of the National Committee on Security Affairs – the highest policy-making authority of national security – at Ganabhaban, the paper reported citing sources from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The meeting was attended by the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, police, RAB, BGB, and other top security officers. The meeting came as renewed violence spread to several parts of the country.

The government has announced a three-day general holiday on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to ensure public safety amid the ongoing violent protests across the country.

Giving details of casualties, the paper said eight people were killed in Feni, 22 including 13 policemen in Sirajganj, five in Kishoreganj, eight in Dhaka, five in Bogura, three in Munshiganj, four in Magura, three in Bhola, four in Rangpur, three in Pabna, five in Sylhet, three in Cumilla, two in Sherpur and two in Joypurhat. One person was killed in Keraniganj, one in Savar and one in Barisal.

Six Awami League leaders and activists were beaten to death and several others injured in a clash between the ruling party supporters and protesters in Narsingdi, the paper reported.

Citing Dhaka Medical College Hospital sources, the paper said 56 people were brought to the hospital with bullet injuries from Shahbagh, Shanir Akhra, Nayabazar, Dhanmondi, Science Laboratory, Paltan, Press Club and Munshiganj.

In a related development, a group of former senior military generals Sunday asked the government to withdraw the armed forces from the streets and send them back to barracks.

“We urge the government to undertake political initiatives to resolve the ongoing crisis. Do not destroy the good standing of our armed forces by keeping them engaged in a disgraceful campaign,” said former army chief Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, who served as the army chief under Prime Minister Hasina’s government.

Reading out a statement at a media briefing here, he said, “The Bangladeshi armed forces have never faced off with the masses or trained their guns at the chests of their fellow citizens.”

Another former army chief, octogenarian general Nuruddin Khan, who also served as the energy minister in Hasina’s past 1996-2001 tenure, was one of those who joined the briefing along with fellow officers, some of them being 1971 Liberation War veterans.

“Time is ripe to immediately take the soldiers to barracks to prepare themselves for any eventuality as the time taken to transition from internal security mode to operational mode takes quite some time,” the statement read.

Most of the shops and malls in Dhaka were closed amid the protest. Hundreds of students and professionals had gathered at Dhaka’s Shahbagh, blocking traffic on all sides.

Protesters had also gathered at the Science Lab intersection of the capital on the first day of the non-cooperation movement. They chanted anti-government slogans.

According to the Daily Star newspaper, several vehicles at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) were torched on Sunday by unidentified people.

People carrying sticks were seen vandalising private cars, ambulances, motorcycles, and buses on the hospital premises, triggering fear among the patients, their attendants, doctors and staff, the paper said.

Nahid Islam, a coordinator of the anti-government protests, announced said they will stage a demonstration and mass sit-in on Monday to press home their one-point demand.

On Monday, they will unveil Martyrs’ Memorial plaques across the country in memory of people killed recently centring the quota reform movement, he said in a statement.

There have been reports of vandalism and arson attacks on police vehicles and government buildings in multiple locations.

In Chattogram, the residences of Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel and Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, as well as the office of AL MP Md Mohiuddin Bachchu were attacked.

In an apparent retaliation, the homes of several Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders, including Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, were targeted.

The BNP and its allies, along with numerous political, professional, and cultural groups have thrown their support behind the student-led movement that had been launched to demand reforms to quotas reserved for government jobs.

Prime Minister Hasina offered to sit for talks on Saturday with the coordinators of the movement. However, they rejected her proposal.

The government leaders earlier claimed that the “peaceful campaign” was hijacked by fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami and their student front Islami Chhatra Shibir being backed by ex-premier Khaleda Zia’s BNP.

Chandigarh: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday slammed the opposition parties for raising questions about the strength of the NDA government at the Centre, saying the alliance will not only complete its term but also form the government in 2029.

Shah made the remarks addressing a gathering here after inaugurating the 24×7 Manimajra water supply project.

Lauding the Modi government for its works, he said, “I want to say that the 10- year period from 2014 to 2024 will be inscribed in golden letters in history of our country’s development.”

Shah said in the past 10 years under the Modi government, the country achieved different types of successes as he spoke about surgical and air strikes, abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, building Ram temple in Ayodhya, setting up a road network and transformation of British-era railway stations.

In every field, people of the country experienced development, he said.

Shah said the country became a manufacturing hub with the Modi government’s initiatives, including Startup India and Digital India.

Because of this, people made Modi prime minister for a third time, he said, adding that in a way, people have put their stamp on works undertaken by PM Modi.

“I want to assure you (people) that let the opposition make a fuss, you do not worry. In 2029 also, the NDA will come (to power), (Narendra) Modi ji will come,” the Union home minister said.

“They (opposition) feel that with some success, they have won elections. They do not know that the BJP won more seats in this election (2024 Lok Sabha poll) than the number of seats the Congress got in the past three elections… The BJP alone has more seats than the total number of seats which their whole alliance has,” he said.

Attacking the INDIA bloc parties, Shah said they want to create uncertainty as they keep saying that this government will not complete its term.

“I want to assure the opposition that not only will this government complete its five-year term, the next term will also be of this government. Be ready to sit in the opposition and learn to work effectively in the opposition,” he added.

About the water supply project, Shah said over one lakh people in Manimajra area will get round-the-clock water supply.

He said a sum of Rs 75 crore has been spent on this project.

The Union minister said when Modi became the PM in 2014, he tried to uplift the standard of people’s living in cities by implementing the Smart City plan.

The Centre has spent over Rs 1,000 crore in Chandigarh under the Smart City project, he said.

Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, aimed to ensure clean drinking water, Shah said the work on ensuring water in 15 crore houses has been completed in less than seven years.

Clean drinking water has been ensured in 74 per cent of houses in the country, he further said.

After the start of Jal Jeevan Mission, there was a drop in the number of diarrhoea deaths.

Earlier there used to be four lakh deaths due to diarrhea and now there is a drop of three lakh in it, he said.

As far as Chandigarh city is concerned, five sewage treatment plants have been set up and an Integrated Command and Control Centre has also been established to streamline traffic movement, said Shah.

He said there is a reduction of 40 per cent in traffic related violations and 31 per cent drop in accidental deaths.

For the development of Chandigarh, the Centre spent Rs 30,000 crore in the last 10 years, he added.

Shah also praised former MP Kirron Kher for her efforts towards bringing the water supply project in the city.

The water supply project will benefit over one lakh residents of Manimajra, including those living in Modern Housing Complex, Shivalik Enclave, Indira Colony, and Shastri Nagar.

The project, a part of the Smart City mission, is aimed at avoiding wastage of water by minimising storage through continuous high-pressure supply.

The other objectives of the project include water resource augmentation through leakage reduction, smart metering, limited dependence on groundwater, and monitoring of energy consumption.

A total of 22 km water supply pipeline has been laid for this project and two underground water reservoirs, each with capacity of two million gallons per day, set up.

Later, Shah also inaugurated the e-evidence, Nyay Setu, Nyay Shruti and e-summon systems built to augment the criminal justice apparatus.

Venur: More than 15 families have been evacuated as the Belthangady-Moodbidri State Highway is covered in rainwater, forcing the Moodbidri Police, the linemen and the local youngsters to strive till 3 am on Thursday to ensure the people and their cattle reached safer venues. No casualty has been reported so far.

Rainwater is feared to have entered most of the houses near a temple and a mosque in Maruru village situated within the administration limits of Moodbidri Town Municipality limits, causing heavy losses for the people. The buses in the area were seen stranded in the rainwater near the Venur Church. As the rescue teams successfully continued their operation incessantly, the buses successfully reached the bus stand in Venur at 1.30 am on Thursday.

Farmers too are complaining of losses as an excessively high quantity of water from places like Venur, Hosangadi and Angarakari has slowed on the bridges and dams here and further seeped into plantations and fields situated in several areas. Loss of crop has been reported from Kajottu, Mattu Poocherlekki, Derar, Pade Arladka, Thorpu Anektu Peri, Jangar and Kodamani Kodingeri, as rainwater has entered not only house and huts but also the fields in these areas.

A minor bridge near Maladi Sonandur village of Belthangady taluk also collapsed in the rainwater flurry.

Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw faced fierce criticism and a wave of memes on social media after the Opposition branded him the “Reel Minister” during a heated session in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The mocking label stems from accusations that Vaishnaw prioritizes his social media image over addressing critical safety concerns within the railway sector.

The Opposition’s barbs followed a series of recent train derailments, with the latest incident occurring on July 30 near Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, where 18 coaches of the Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailed, resulting in two deaths and 22 injuries. In response, the Congress and other parties have intensified their scrutiny, accusing Vaishnaw of neglecting essential safety measures.

During his speech in the Lower House, Vaishnaw, visibly angered, accused the previous Congress-led administrations of failing to implement Automatic Train Protection (ATP) systems. However, this did little to quell the criticism from the Opposition, who continued to highlight his perceived focus on social media.

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party MP Hanuman Beniwal further fueled the debate by calling Vaishnaw a “reel minister” and a “derail minister,” leading to a sharp retort from Vaishnaw, who told Beniwal to “shut up.” The exchange quickly went viral, sparking a meme-fest on platforms like Twitter and Instagram, where users flooded timelines with satirical content mocking the minister.

Congress representatives pointed out that Vaishnaw’s tenure has seen three major accidents in June and July alone, costing 17 lives. They argue that the lack of accountability and tangible improvements in railway safety infrastructure under his leadership is concerning.

New Delhi: A court here on Thursday allowed the second bail plea of an SUV driver, arrested for his alleged role in drowning of three civil services aspirants in the basement of a coaching centre.

During the proceedings, the Delhi Police told the court that they have decided to drop harsher charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Manuj Kathuria, the SUV driver.

Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Kumar was hearing an appeal against the denial of bail to Kathuria by a magisterial court on Wednesday.

“The bail is allowed,” the judge said.

A detailed order of the court is awaited.

Kathuria was accused of driving his Force Gurkha car through the street that was flooded by rainwater, causing the water to swell and breach the gates of the three-storey building housing the coaching centre and inundate the basement.

During the proceedings, the Delhi police told the court that they have decided to drop ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’ charge against Kathuria.

“During the further investigation, as carried out in the preceding 48 hours, it has transpired that the ingredients of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) is, at this stage, not being sufficiently established,” the investigating officer (IO) said in his reply to the appeal.

“The same can be better assessed when the expert team from IIT-Delhi visits the spot and post inspection, submits its findings. Thus, as of now, the primary offence against the accused is of Sec 281 BNS (rash driving or riding on public way) for which the court may kindly pass appropriate orders as deemed fit,” the IO added.

On Wednesday, terming the offence as “serious”, the magisterial court had denied bail to Kathuria, saying the plea was “untenable at this stage”.

The denial of bail by the magisterial court came hours after a Delhi High Court bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan castigated the police for its “strange” probe by arresting the driver.

“What is Delhi Police doing? Have they lost it? What are its officials who are monitoring the probe doing? This is a cover up or what?” the high court said in the forenoon while hearing a PIL seeking a probe into the incident.

Kathuria was arrested on Monday along with four co-owners of the basement.

On Sunday, a magisterial court had sent to 14-day judicial custody Rau’s IAS Study Circle owner Abhishek Gupta and coordinator Deshpal Singh.

Police have registered an FIR under the BNS sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106(1) (death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide), 115(2) (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings).

A view of Sri Krishna temple and Shahi Idgah mosque, in Mathura

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Thursday ruled that the trial in 18 cases related to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura can continue, dismissing a petition filed by the mosque committee that challenged the maintainability of these suits.

Justice Mayank Kumar Jain had on June 6 reserved his judgment on the plea moved by the Muslim side. The court has now fixed August 12 as the date for framing of issues.

The suits filed by Hindu litigants seek “removal” of the Shahi Idgah mosque adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple.

The petitions claim that the Aurangazeb-era mosque was built after the demolition of a temple that marked the spot where Lord Krishna was born.

But the mosque management committee and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board argued that the suits were barred under Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits changing the religious status of any shrine from what existed on the day of the country’s Independence.

However, the 1991 law had exempted the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute from its purview.

Hindu side counsel Vishnu Shankar Jain told reporters that with the dismissal of the plea challenging maintainability, the high court will continue to hear all related cases on the temple-mosque issue.

Jain also said the Hindu side will now move the Supreme Court asking it to vacate its stay on an earlier Allahabad High Court order that had allowed a survey of the mosque.

The Hindu side claims the mosque holds signs suggesting that it was a temple once.

On May 31, the Allahabad High Court reserved its judgment on the maintainability plea after hearing both sides.

However, the court reopened the hearing at the request of Shahi Idgah counsel Mehmood Pracha. The judgment was finally reserved on June 6.

In several ways, the Mathura dispute mirrors the legal tussle in Varanasi, where the Gyanvapi mosque and the Kashi Vishwanath temple are located next to each other.